


made in abyss

by ricecrispbees



Category: Endless Ocean (Video Games)
Genre: Abyss Diving, F/M, Gen, Illustrations, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:28:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29526405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ricecrispbees/pseuds/ricecrispbees
Summary: it’s time for L&L to recover the third and final piece of the dragon flute from the wreck of the HD-9, also known as the final resting place of jean-eric’s son and oceana’s father, matthias louvier.oceana is pretty confident she has this dive in the bag. michael is pretty confident she doesnot.
Relationships: Background GG/Hayako, Oceana Louvier & Jean-Eric Louvier, Oceana Louvier & Player Character, implied Oceana/MC
Comments: 9
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> uno card: write an EO fic where Oceana isn’t somehow traumatized or subjected to some kind of loss OR draw the whole deck  
> me: [sitting in the corner w now three entire decks in my hands]
> 
> I regret nothing.  
> This will have to be a multi-parter because god knows it’ll be another year before I get this bitch out if I stupidly decide it has to go up all at once again. If it’s any consolation this should be much easier to read that way, though.
> 
> Also!! I plan to add a few illustrations to this one because I really need to practice drawing more, so I hope y'all like those as well! For the first chapter, there's only one & I'll admit it's not great, but I do hope to add more per chapter with higher quality as this goes along :v
> 
> enjoy & also maybe leave a comment & kudos if u liked bcus validation from third parties is literally my only motivation fr writing anymore!!

_**19th May 2010** _

_**11:28 p.m.** _

_**Nineball Island** _

“And what on Earth are _you_ still doing awake?”

The door to Nineball Island’s modest shack shut quietly behind Michael as he stepped out onto the sand. He regarded the girl curled up on one of the small chairs next to the two-person table with a smile until he saw the look of anxiety plastered across her face. 

“Could ask you the same thing,” Oceana mumbled, arms wrapped around her knees as she stared out across the vast expanse of sea before them. Michael wordlessly sat down in the chair across from her.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Michael admitted, following her gaze and staring out at the sea with her. “And you?”

“Same.” Oceana stated flatly and took a drink of the bottled water placed on the table next to her.

Michael looked Oceana over critically. “Is that _all_?” he asked, a little concerned. The normally bubbly and bright young lady he worked with daily was without her normal smile and to be honest, it unsettled him. "You don't look so good, Oceana."

The silence between them dragged out for a while before Oceana spoke.

“I’m _scared_ , okay?” she admitted, an uncharacteristic bite to her tone. “You know where we’re heading off to tomorrow, right?”

“The Zahhab Region, in the Red Sea,” Michael answered, then paused. “The place where your father…”

“...spent his final moments. Yeah.” Oceana curled up on herself just a little more. “It’s so weird, you know? I don’t have any memories of Papa but...god. The thought of going to that place still makes my stomach turn.”

"I get that," Michael thought for a moment. “If you really don’t wanna go, we don’t have to,” he said, resting a hand on her forearm.

“But we _do_ ,” Oceana insisted. “That’s the problem. His submersible has the final piece of the Dragon Flute inside. I don’t quite see how else we’re meant to get it. At any rate, our flight to Egypt is tomorrow anyway. Too late to cancel now.”

“That’s true…” the other conceded. “If you want, GG or Hayako can just come down with me instead. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind. Hayako especially would jump at the chance, I think.”

“Bad idea,” Oceana nearly cut him off with how quickly she objected. Clearly she’d been giving this a _lot_ of thought. “Diving that deep requires a lot of resources, air being one of them. I’m the smallest one in the group, so it only makes sense that I'd be the one to go down. Anyway, it just...it just doesn’t feel _right_ , you know, to be sitting around on a boat while some people who were total strangers to Papa go through the wreck of his sub.”

Michael raised his eyebrows. Clearly, this was something she'd been stewing in for a while. “I’ve not seen you this emotional since we dealt with those sick monk seals in Ciceros Strait.”

The girl’s eyes began to brim with tears. “Don’t remind me of that, dummy. That was _really_ sad, you know. They were all so cute...and, and there’s only so many of them left nowadays...”

It didn’t take much from there for Oceana to burst into tears, shoulders heaving as she cried silently into her arms.

“Oh— oh no,” Michael tried to reach across the table to give his friend a hug, managing to do so albeit awkwardly. “Hey...Oceana, it’s okay. Just let it all out, I’m right here for you, okay?” 

Oceana sniffled loudly but didn’t reply.

Michael really couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Oceana was, in a way, his best friend now as well as his coworker. Jean-Eric was a nice guy and all, and it wasn’t like he and Michael didn’t like one another, but there was something about Oceana that just made the pair _click_ . He loved her happy-go-lucky attitude and the way she talked about sea life and how she always made sure she was up early enough to be the first to feed Snorkel in the mornings even though she swore every which way but loose that she was _strictly_ a cat person. 

Oceana was the light of Nineball Island, really, which made her pain all the more heart-wrenching to him.

“Is there something I can do to help you feel better?” Michael asked quietly, doing his best to soothe the crying girl. Oceana looked up at him through teary red eyes. “Just say the word and I’ll make it happen.”

…well _that_ came out a lot sappier than he’d intended it to. 

Oceana wiped her eyes on the sleeve of the sweatshirt she wore. It had to be Jean-Eric’s, there was no way something that baggy belonged to her. 

“Heh. You really mean that?” she asked with a lopsided grin.

Michael, despite his embarrassment, found himself smiling back. “Of course I do,” he said. “You’re my best friend, after all.”

Oceana rolled her eyes, but clearly, it was lighthearted. “Nerd,” she teased, quickly following it with “and you’re mine.”

Without much thought, she continued, “Living on an island for so long is kind of tough, you know? The closest thing I had to a friend before you joined L&L were my dive tour clients and strangers in online chatrooms.” She let one foot touch the ground, idly kicking at the damp sand beneath. “It’s nice, having someone near my age to talk to all the time.”

“I’m five years older than you, Oceana,” Michael reminded her. 

“I know, dummy. That’s why I said _near_ my age.” Oceana rolled her eyes and this time it was more outwardly sarcastic. “But anyway...thanks again for coming out here to chat, Michael. The distraction is appreciated…”

She trailed off, her focus turning to the endless stretch of ocean before them.

Michael was silent for a few moments. “It’s not a problem,” he insisted, “but you know, I’m being serious when I say I’d be willing to goad GG or Hayako into diving with me if you really can’t handle it. I can see how just the idea is taking a toll on you.”

“ _No_ ,” Oceana forcefully insisted once again, “I don’t want them to take my place. I have to be the one to go down there with you, Michael.” She turned again so she sat facing him, her expression steely and determined. “It doesn’t feel right, like I said earlier. As his daughter, I have to be the one to get this flute from his...his final…” She began to choke up again.

Michael cut her off with a hand sympathetically placed on her shoulder.

“If you’re _sure_ ,” he said, knowing it would be pointless to argue with Oceana now, “But you know I’m here if you ever change your mind.” 

“Of course…” Oceana said, averting her eyes from his. Michael pulled his hand back just a beat too late, and the pair sat together in awkward silence for a bit.

“Hey,” Oceana, predictably, was the one to break their silence. “I don’t wanna go back to bed just yet. Got any stories you wanna share with me, or something?”

Michael raised his eyebrows, a teasing grin on his face. “A story? _Really_?”

“Hey, I’m asking you to tell me about yourself!” she reached over and smacked him on the arm. Michael snorted.

“Really, though? I'm not that interesting a guy,” he said with a shrug. "I'd imagine you've got more to talk about than I do, honestly."

"Why?"

"You _are_ the one who's basically grown up on an island."

"...touche." Oceana conceded. "It's a lot more boring than you'd think, though, but maybe that's just me."

"Oh, it's _definitely_ just you." 

“Hm…” Oceana had spent the majority of her life homeschooled, and she’d heard from her Internet chat rooms that American schools were...interesting, to say the least. “Hey, I know this is weird, but since you're American...is it true they make you say some kind of pledge every morning in school?”

Michael looked confused. "And where's this coming from, exactly?"

Oceana shrugged. "Just something I heard about online. It sounded just...so bizarre to me, I didn't think it could be true."

Michael snorted. "It is. They'd make us say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning, but then, doesn't every country have something like that?"

Oceana stared blankly at him. "...they absolutely do _not_."

"...huh." Michael's expression suddenly went from confused to enthusiastic seemingly out of nowhere. "Oh my god, wait, that reminds me!"

He launched into a story from his time in high school, gradually picking up enthusiasm until he was nearly shouting and gesticulating along with his own words. Oceana laughed and gasped and commented where she thought necessary until Michael said something that sent them both into a fit of hysterical laughter.

The door to the cabin opened with a sharp creak.

“What in the _world_ are you two doing out here?” Jean-Eric asked groggily, clearly having been woken by the pair of them. Oceana and Michael’s faces flushed red with embarrassment.

“Sorry, Grandpa,” Oceana said, “I couldn’t sleep.”

Jean-Eric looked expectantly over at Michael.

“Neither could I,” the man said with a shrug.

Jean-Eric sighed.

“Both of you back to bed, now,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Our flight’s at six-thirty and the last thing any of us needs is to go into this trip sleep-deprived.”

The old man had a point. Michael and Oceana looked at one another before wordlessly getting up and returning to their cabin. Thankfully, Jean-Eric seemed to be the only one that slept lightly enough to be awoken by their shenanigans.

“Goodnight, Michael,” Oceana mumbled to her friend from across the room, settling into her bed and burying herself beneath the sheets. Good lord, was it cold in here tonight.

Michael didn’t reply. When Oceana turned to look his way, she saw he’d fallen asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

‘ _God,_ ’ she thought, rolling back over to face away from him to stare out the window. It would be a while before she truly felt calm enough to go to sleep. ‘ _I wish that were me._ ’


	2. Chapter 2

**20th May 2010**

**10:31 a.m.**

**Somewhere Over the Pacific Ocean**

  
  


GG  _ hated _ flying.

He hated having to lug every last bit of his diving gear throughout the airports, and  _ especially  _ through security. He couldn’t stand the way the pressure made his ears pop, or the way his stomach dropped into his feet every time the plane took off or landed. Most importantly, however, he  _ hated _ just how  _ long _ flights tended to be. Sure, it wasn’t like there were any faster ways to get across the Atlantic Ocean, but come  _ on _ . The least security could have done was let him bring sleeping pills for the flight or something.

“Having fun yet, hotshot?” Hayako teased him, not even bothering to look up from the magazine she was reading to know the man looked absolutely  _ miserable _ .

“You’re unbearable, you know that?” GG pouted. “I don’t get how you’re not, like, at least a  _ little _ squicked out right now.”

Hayako shrugged. “I’ve never been particularly afraid of flights. They’re just like taking a train, but in the sky and with a much longer boarding process.”

_ ‘Well,  _ gee _! That sure makes me feel better!’ _ GG thought snarkily. 

“So. You ever been to Egypt?” He asked to change the subject, casting a sideways glance out the window. Nothing but blue seas and skies for miles. He’d be lying if the sight of it didn’t make him feel a bit weird inside. 

“No, actually,” Hayako said, as if going to Egypt were some common occurrence, “but it’s always been on my bucket list. I had a passing interest on Egyptian mythology as a little girl, so I’ve wanted to tour the area for quite a while.”

“Not sure we’ll be able to do shit like pyramid tours while we’re there, I’m afraid,” GG snorted, “unless one of us can convince Jean-Eric to blow some of the company funding on it.” 

Hayako set her magazine down. “Now that I think about it, a bit of sightseeing might do us some good even if it’s just through some obscure little town,” she said, before lowering her voice. “I don’t know if you noticed, but Oceana’s been acting a little odd lately.”

GG looked at her like she had four heads. “Well, duh! You  _ do _ know we’re gonna be searching the place her dad died, right?!”

Hayako shushed him. Jean-Eric and Michael sat directly behind them, and Oceana behind  _ them _ , and the last thing the scientist wanted was to be overheard talking about something she knew to be extremely personal. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that Michael had headphones on, thoroughly lost in whatever movie he was playing on the tiny screen attached to her seat, while Jean-Eric slept soundly next to him. 

“Keep it  _ down _ , you dolt. Yes, I realize that,” she explained, “but I thought her and her father didn’t really have a relationship, as it were. Didn’t he pass when she was really little?”

“She was one or two, if I remember what Jean-Eric said right,” GG chewed his bottom lip in thought. “...it was fifteen years ago, so yeah, that checks out.”

“I wonder if she’ll be able to handle this,” Hayako worried further. “I know she’s resilient, but even strong people have their breaking points.” She suddenly went silent and GG looked over to see her lost in thought.

“What?” he asked, expecting her to continue.

Hayako remained silent for a bit longer before admitting, “To tell you the truth, I don’t know how I’ll be able to best support her through this.”

“What do you mean?”

The scientist sighed. “I mean, there’s no way Oceana will back out of this dive, so there’s a good chance she’ll be diving down to the place her father died and come out of it with more than just the last piece of the dragon flute.” GG still looked rather confused. “Trauma, Gaston. She’s gonna come out of this traumatized somehow, I just know it.”

“Hey. It’s  _ GG _ to you,” GG corrected. “That does make sense, though, I guess.”

“And to be honest—“ Hayako continued, only hesitating a moment before saying “I really don’t know how I’m gonna help her with it. I feel sort of obligated to, you know? But I’ve never been terribly great with emotions. I don’t know how to help her cope.”

“Huh. Yeah, I guess I can see that.” Hayako, to GG, had always been...emotionally static, for lack of a better term. No matter how happy or sad or stressed or angry the people around her were, Hayako always seemed to have this air of dry sarcasm and humor about her, like she found everything inherently funny even if it seemed twisted to do so. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hayako raised an eyebrow, clearly offended. GG snorted.

“Nothing, nothing.” He insisted. “To be honest, I hadn’t really thought that far into it, with helping her and all that. Her business is her business, you know? It’s not like it’s your job or anything.”

“I suppose,” Hayako pursed her lips, “but really, we’re such a tightly knit group by now that it feels  _ wrong _ to just let her sit and suffer in silence.”

GG thought that over for a moment. “I don’t think she’d be silent about it if she were  _ really _ in pain, you know,” he said. “She doesn’t look like the kind of kid that can keep that sort of thing down well, you know? Were you there when we went to Ciceros Strait for those monk seals?”

“God. Yes, yes I was.” Hayako admitted, wiping a tear from her eye after a few moments. “In her defense, that  _ was _ a pretty sad situation.”

“Oh come  _ on _ ,” GG rolled his eyes.

“In any case,” the other cut in sharply, “Oceana’s a child. I think we both forget that sometimes, seeing how mature she can be.”

“ _ Mature? _ So that’s what we’re calling it now.” That remark earned GG a firm smack on the arm. “Ow!”

“She’s  _ sixteen _ . I know the two of you don’t get on so well but for crying out loud,  _ you’re  _ the adult here. Act the part.” Hayako reprimanded. “And I know full well you weren’t the acting face of your grandfather’s company for years until someone else finally showed to help lighten the workload.”

“That... _ is _ true,” conceded a visibly embarrassed GG, rubbing his upper arm.

Hayako opened her mouth to say something but paused, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat. “...if I tell you this, you need to promise not to bring it up  _ ever _ again.”

“Damn, doc, it’s that serious?” GG snorted, but quickly dropped the humor when he saw that she was, in fact, serious. “Oh. I mean, sure. What’s on your mind?”

Hayako worried at her lower lip for several seconds, the only sound between them being that of the plane’s roaring engine for the longest time.

“I don’t know how to relate to Oceana,” she finally admitted. “I...I can't relate to many people, really, but Oceana especially...she stumps me. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do that, and it’s driving me  _ insane _ .”

“You...I’m sorry,” GG said, “I don’t quite follow.”

Hayako sighed, clearly frustrated. Whether it was with him or with her own self was unclear. “I mean, think about it. If you want to help someone feel better if something awful—say, a loss of some kind—happened to them, you need to first be able to relate to their experiences somehow. If you fell and hurt yourself badly, I’d feel bad but probably know what to say to make it more bearable because I’ve broken bones and such before. If Jean-Eric lost a valuable object and needed help finding it, I’m confident I could help him find what he’s looking for.” 

She paused, worrying with the hem of her favorite green shirt for a moment. GG noticed that some of the seams had been thoroughly picked at and pulled apart.

“But in Oceana’s case? I know what it’s like being a hormonal, emotionally messy teenager. I know what it’s like to lose someone...if you can count distant relatives or family pets, of course. But losing a  _ parent _ ? And then voluntarily burdening themselves with the task of carrying on their legacy? GG, how on  _ Earth _ am I meant to help her cope with all the stress this is no doubt putting on her?”

GG stared blankly at her for a moment. “I get where you’re coming from, but...you know it’s not your job to be her therapist, yeah?”

The scientist shook her head. “I don’t know about that. There’s a sort of obligation to be there for her, you know? Being the only other woman on the island and all. I want to be a good role model for Oceana, someone she can come to if she’s upset and doesn’t want to talk about it with the boys.” Hayako looked at GG and, for the first time in the months he’d known her, he saw there was genuine fear in her eyes. “I’m worried I haven’t been doing a good job with that.”

GG was quiet for several moments. He’d seen firsthand many instances of Hayako and Oceana bonding over breakfast, with the two frequently conversing over topics not at all related to the sea or their job as divers. Oceana seemed particularly interested in Japan and international travel, which was really no surprise when one considered where she’d spent the majority of her life. More than once GG had come out of the cabin, a mug of coffee or a plate of Jean-Eric’s scrambled eggs in hand, to find Hayako retelling stories of her life in Japan to a positively  _ enthralled _ Oceana. He would have never guessed Hayako doubted her status as a mentor for a moment.

“Funny thing,” GG quipped nervously, “I’m, uh. Not entirely sure how I’m supposed to respond to that.”

“I...listen, it’s fine,” Hayako sighed, leaning back in her seat. She looked exhausted. “I don’t even really need advice, I think. I just needed to vent.”

“Yeah, I get that,” the other said. “You know what I think, though?”

“Hm?”

“I think you’ve been a really good role model for Oceana so far just doing what you are now.” When GG saw a look of genuine surprise cross Hayako’s face, he frowned. “Don’t look at me like that. I’ve seen the way you two talk ‘n shit over breakfast or after dives. She can’t get enough of you, man!”

“You...really think so?” Hayako asked, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Huh.”

“ _ Duh _ . Of course I do. And you know what else,” GG continued, casually putting a hand on Hayako’s shoulder, “I think that if this mission does start to mess with her head, she’ll come to you about it at some point, and honestly? At that point, all you can really do is listen. Don’t worry too hard on what to say or anything. The fact that you care enough to let her vent about something that rough means a lot on its own.”

He felt his cheeks warm a little at the last sentence. “That’s just what I think, anyway.”

Hayako’s lips slowly curled into a smile. “That...does make me feel better, actually. Thank you, GG.”

“Pfft. Yeah,” the other replied casually, “it was nothing.”

With a contented hum, Hayako picked up her magazine and opened it where she’d left off, while GG returned his attention to the window of the plane again. Still nothing but blue water for miles around. How exciting.

“Hey, GG?” After a few moments, Hayako’s gentle voice broke their relative silence.

“Yeah, doc?”

“You can take your hand off my arm now.” 

“Oh!  _ Oh, _ ” GG  _ absolutely  _ didn’t go red in the face as he put his other arm back in his lap. “Ah. Right. Sorry.”

Hayako simply smiled and went back to her reading. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing GG and Hayako is a lot more fun than it has any right to be :)  
> honestly? I didn't go into this chapter planning to focus on them, I originally wanted it to focus more on Oceana. for some reason, though, when I went to think up the first sentence, GG came to mind somehow. the rest just sort of came to me as it went along.
> 
> hope y'all enjoyed this bit & all the bits to follow <3 join [the endless ocean discord server](https://discord.gg/4hmcsmPMDG) if you haven't already!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter's got an illustration this time!! :D I'm not _super_ proud of it but I do have a feeling y'all might enjoy it regardless.
> 
> thank you all for reading this far!

**22nd May 2010**

**6:45 a.m.**

**A hotel room in Hurghada, Egypt**

  
  


Michael was awoken by the sound of the door to the hotel room’s balcony loudly creaking open.

Pulling himself off the pull-out couch, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked out the sliding glass door to see Oceana, fully dressed and seated on the balcony. Weird; she’d never been one to wake up early. Already he got the feeling that something wasn’t right.

“Hey.” Michael shimmied open the balcony door, thankfully avoiding the loud creak Oceana’s attempt had produced and stepped out into the morning air. 

“Morning.” Oceana turned to her friend and smiled, eyebrows raising after a moment. “Since when did _you_ sleep without a shirt?”

Michael pulled out a chair, sitting down across from her. “I paid ten grand for the right to go shirtless and I’ll be damned if I let that go to waste.” He paused. “Also, I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s _baking_ here even at night, and the cooling unit in the living room hardly works.”

Oceana cringed. “So I guess you slept _great_ , huh?”

Michael yawned, stretching his arms above his head. “Could’ve been better. Found a spare fan in the closet and let that work its magic.”

“Hm.”

“Thankfully the one in Jean-Eric and GG’s room seemed to be working, though. They definitely deserve the rest after that nightmarishly long flight.” Michael paused, looking his friend over. She was already dressed in her normal getup, looking oddly composed for someone up at barely seven in the morning. “You certainly look ready for the day.”

The girl shrugged. “Something like that. I got up and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I figured I’d just get ready now. Besides,” she made a broad sweeping gesture at the landscape before them. Their hotel was only a road and a row of buildings away from the shoreline, and the view from their room was positively _gorgeous_ . “just have a look at this landscape! The sunrise is absolutely _beautiful,_ so in the end being up this early isn’t such a bad thing to me at all.”

“Hm. I bet tomorrow morning you’ll be the last one up, then.” Michael challenged with a grin.

“Aww, you have that little faith in me, Michael? I’m _insulted_ ,” Oceana dramatically held a hand to her forehead. Michael rolled his eyes.

The pair sat together, chatting and basking in the Egyptian sun for a while, until the door to the balcony slid open.

“Good morning, you two,” Jean-Eric greeted them with a smile. “This might just be the first time you’ve ever been awake before me on a trip, Oceana!”

Oceana snorted. “Probably. Michael and I were just hanging out, waiting for everyone else to get up.”

“Good call. I don’t think we planned to really head out for the dive spot until some time past noon.” Jean-Eric yawned. “I’m going down to the lobby to get coffee. Do either of you want anything?”

“If you don’t mind getting me some coffee as well I’d appreciate it,” Michael said.

Oceana made a face. “Hard pass on the coffee, but if they have scrambled eggs then some of those, please.”

“Alright. Since you asked so nicely,” Jean-Eric gave his granddaughter a kiss on the forehead before leaving the balcony, shutting the door behind him. Oceana smiled contentedly and returned her attention to her conversation with Michael. 

The morning from there was fairly uneventful. The gang got breakfast and ate around the TV, joking about the trashy reality shows subtitled with English print so small you could barely see it. Thankfully, Hayako had a loose enough grasp on Arabic from a class she’d taken in university--was there anything this woman _didn’t_ know?--that she was able to give everyone else a blow-by-blow of what was happening on the screen.

“Okay, but I’m _still_ not over some of the effects in that show, dude,” Oceana remarked to Michael as they were getting into their diving gear. Their boat was parked several meters from the shore, on a beach tucked away from many of the major roads and tourist destinations of the area. Instead of broad, flat land like those of the nearby public beaches, this section of the ocean was lined with tall, rocky cliffs. It had been quite the trip finding somewhere the five could use to help get their boat down. She strapped her diving knife to her calf carefully, trying not to cut off any circulation but still trying to keep it on tight enough that the act of diving in the water itself wouldn’t dislodge it. “You know that Powerpoint thing on Grandpa’s computer? It reminded me of some of the transition thingies on that!”

“I was literally _just_ thinking that,” Michael rubbed some extra sunscreen on his cheeks, touching up what he’d applied an hour ago. God help him if he sustained any sunburns on top of whatever else he was coming out of this dive with. “How any self-respecting official in the film industry lets stuff like that slide is beyond me.”

“If the two of you are done,” Hayako cut in, “I have a few things to get on your BCDs before we can begin this dive. Namely, these small video cameras I managed to get off another diving group north of Nineball.”

She held out her hand to reveal two small items roughly the shape of beads. “They’ll give us a live feed of what you're are seeing down there, so Jean-Eric can guide you to the sub's wreck.”

“Both of you,” Jean-Eric added sternly, “need to severely limit how often you use the radio to communicate with us, or with one another. You will be using a lot more air than usual down there, and things like your dive level won’t do much to help even you, Michael.”

“Exactly,” Hayako smiled, already working to affix one camera onto Michael’s BCD, “so just let us give the instructions and whatnot as needed and only respond verbally if _absolutely_ necessary.”

Oceana swallowed nervously, trying to keep a brave face. Michael glanced over at her as Hayako finished securing the camera, raising his eyebrows skeptically.

“Your hands are shaking,” he pointed out, and the girl looked down to realize he was in fact correct about that.

“S-so are yours, idiot,” she jabbed back as Hayako turned her focus to getting the second camera on her.

“I can’t blame either of you,” the scientist remarked, and Oceana saw that even her hands were growing progressively more unsteady. “This is going to be a very risky dive. The two of you are showing extreme bravery just by being here.”

“Damn right,” GG shuddered. “I don’t mean to dampen anyone’s spirits, but going _600 feet down_ in just our diving stuff sounds absolutely terrifying. Dunno if I’d ever be able to do it myself.”

Oceana grinned, making direct eye contact with him and mouthing ‘ _pussy’_.

“ _Hey!_ ” GG put a hand to his chest, offended. Hayako let out a barely audible snort of laughter. “In my defense, Oceana, your dad didn’t even try diving that far down without a submersible to protect him.”

The group collectively turned to GG, each person giving him a look that at best could be described as hostile. For the whole duration of the day, Matthias Louvier had not been mentioned _once_ , so for him to bring Oceana’s father into this immediately threw the boat into a state of uncomfortable silence.

Oceana specifically tried to once again swallow down the fear and discomfort the mention of her father brought upon her, grabbing her face mask off one of the boat’s benches as Hayako finally finished securing the camera. “Are those air tanks we ordered ready to go yet, grandpa?” she asked. 

The air tanks in question, which had been filled with a special oxygen formula ideal for diving at deeper depths, had been strapped together and were currently sitting at Jean-Eric’s feet. “They are,” he confirmed, looking over at GG with a look sharp enough to kill, “so if I could get a _certain someone’s_ help in throwing it overboard, that’d be _great._ ”

GG, for his part, actually looked like he felt guilty as he held the tanks overboard while Jean-Eric maneuvered the boat so it sat just above the twin crevasses the tanks were meant to go in. Once they were in the right spot, the tanks hit the water with an incredibly satisfying _splash_ , and Jean-Eric intently watched one of the screens on the ship’s control panels, tracking just how far down the tanks were going.

“100 feet…” he announced periodically. Everyone else waited in silence with bated breath. “200 feet...300...400...500...570 feet!”

The rest of L&L let out a collective sigh of relief when Jean-Eric announced the air station had hit the bottom of the crevasse. 

“Going off what the trackers are telling me, this air station should have landed in the southernmost part of the Southern Crevasse.” Jean-Eric said, looking over the map of the dive area he’d pulled up. “The two of you should go ahead and get to diving, and we’ll move the boat over the Northern Crevasse to deposit a second air station. Lord knows you’ll need as much air as you can get there,” he said, and as Oceana looked into her grandfather’s face, she saw just how nervous he was about going through with this mission, too. That didn’t do much to ease her own apprehension about the dive, but it _did_ make her feel better to know she wasn’t the only one lowkey freaking out over what she and Michael were about to do.

“Right,” Michael put on his dive mask, tightening it appropriately and waiting for Oceana to do the same. “You dove in this area before prior to your accident, right, Jean-Eric? What sort of life can we expect to see down there?”

Oceana felt herself smiling despite her anxiety. Leave it to him to find just the right way to lighten the mood of an otherwise tense discussion.

Jean-Eric also visibly brightened, even with the mention of his current inability to dive. “Standard deep-sea life if the last time I was able to dive here is anything to go by,” he said, stopping to think for a moment. “Oceana, a lot of different deep-sea fish that you like should be in this area. I specifically remember seeing a few giant isopods here back then. Look forward to that, if nothing else.”

Oceana would in fact have been lying if the idea of spying a giant isopod or two on this dive didn’t invoke some degree of excitement within her.

After a few more minutes of adjusting and screwing with their gear, Michael and Oceana were finally ready to take the plunge.

“Godspeed, you two,” Jean-Eric said, “and for the love of all that’s holy, _be careful._ ”

**22nd May 2010**

**2:57 p.m.**

**Just above the Twin Crevasses, Zahhab Region, Red Sea**

The water was surprisingly cold for it being the middle of the day in Egypt.

Oceana took a few moments to adjust to the water’s temperature, looking over at Michael to confirm he was okay. When he gave her a thumbs-up, she oriented herself to be facing downwards and was confronted by the sight of two  _ massive _ trenches in the sea floor. They were reminiscent almost of stretch marks, the kind that carved themselves deep into one’s flesh and left the remaining tissue a drastically lighter or darker shade than its original tone. A small pod of gray whales hung out in the area, and despite it not being the first time she’d seen a whale in person, Oceana still found herself in awe of the creatures’ sizes compared to them.

“How’s it looking down there?” Jean-Eric’s voice came over the radio.

Oceana took in a breath of oxygen, comforted slightly by the familiar press of the sea on all sides of her body. “Good. Ready when you all are.”

“Fantastic,” Jean-Eric said. “Go ahead and begin your descent. The first air station should be almost directly beneath you.” 

“Got it,” Michael said, turning his attention to Oceana. Clearly taking Jean-Eric’s advice on saving air to heart, he spelled out  _ go _ with his fingers and the pair began their descent.

It was hard to get used to the dead silence of an underwater environment even after all the years of experience Oceana had under her belt. For several long, tense minutes, all that could be heard were the sounds of Michael and Oceana breathing and the occasional whale noise. The good thing about gray whales was that they mostly made clicking or popping sounds to communicate, as opposed to some of the more haunting, drawn-out cries of other whale species she’d encountered in the past.

Just as the pair reached the southern crevasse's ‘entrance’, as it were, the echo of what could have passed as the creaking of a ship echoed throughout the water. Oceana froze, looking around to find the source of the noise. That certainly did  _ not _ sound like a gray whale.

“Probably just a different kind of whale,” Michael assured her quietly. “One that’s hanging out further away from here.”

_ That _ didn’t calm Oceana down as much as he probably thought it did.

  
  


There’s a saying that if you look into the abyss, the abyss looks back at you. For the longest time, Oceana didn’t particularly understand what people meant when they said that, even though she’d looked into deep-water spaces like this plenty of times. Now, however, she understood, stomach lurching as she tried to comprehend the sight before her. The crevasses, though relatively shallow for a so-called “abyss”, were so unnaturally  _ dark _ even from here. That, and the way she could almost  feel the eyes of the countless deep-sea organisms staring up at her from the darkness, made her feel almost dizzy with anxiety.

Without a second thought, she reached out and snatched up one of Michael’s hands, clinging to it like a scared child. Michael, surprised, looked over at her to see if she was okay, but relaxed after realizing she was just nervous. He gently squeezed her hand, pulling her arm gently and nodding toward the abyss.

It was finally time to go for real. No more distractions, no more banter to be had. This was it.

Taking as deep of a breath as she could manage on a limited oxygen supply, Oceana nodded to confirm she was ready, and so the pair began their descent into the darkness below.


End file.
